My Hero
by ddp456
Summary: After Dipper embarrasses himself and becomes reclusive, Wendy and Mabel plot to help him regain his confidence. But what happens when the plan goes awry? Will things ever be right again? Please leave as many reviews, comments, and suggestions, as you can, if you like/dislike. Cover Art by ryuuseipro.
1. Chapter 1

"DIPPER! COME DOWN HERE! HURRY!"

The concentration of Dipper Pines was shattered by the shrill shriek that echoed throughout the Mystery Shack. Somewhat annoyed, the boy sat up from his bed, removing the tattered journal simply labeled as "3" from his lap.

As he rose to his feet, he immediately recognized the scream as belonging to his twin, Mabel. He rolled his eyes in contempt as he imagined what type of emergency that the metal-mouthed pre-teen was beckoning him to:

_"Dipper! Thank goodness you're here! Can you get me another soda from the fridge? I would…but IT'S SO FAR AWAY!"_

_"Dipper! There you are! Can you change the channel for me? I can't find the remote…"_

However, a second, differentiating cry shortly followed, making Dipper rise to attention:

"C'MON, DIPPER! GET A MOVE ON, OR IT'S GONNA GET US!"

Without a moment's notice, Dipper flew from his shared, attic-converted room and down the rickety wooden stairs. After all, it wasn't every day that his secret crush, Wendy Corduroy, hollered for his assistance personally. Unlike the case with Mabel, while Wendy could be considered "unmotivated" at work, she would be the last person that would send him on a fool's errand.

"Surely," Dipper thought to himself, "If Wendy's calling for _me_, something _must_ be up!"

With a burst of energy, the excited child ran through the door leading to the Mystery Shack's Gift Shop, "What's wrong?! What's going on?!"

"CLOSE THE DOOR!"

"DON'T LET THAT THING GET INSIDE THE HOUSE!"

"Aah!" Dipper gasped in reflex at the two girls shouting at him. He reached back and sealed the door leading into the living room. He turned around to see that the gift shop was in total dismay! Nearly all of the stands were knocked down, with their contents spread out over the floor! A path consisting of broken collectibles and bobbleheads seemingly circled around the room. On his right, both Mabel and Wendy sat on top of the gift shop counter with their legs tucked up against their chests (Mabel's were conveniently covered by an oversized purple sweater). A look of panic and dread was shared by the two girls.

"There, Dipper!" Mabel pointed to the opposite end of the room. "It's over there!"

"There? There?" Dipper nervously stammered. "_What's_ over there?"

Wendy chirped in, "The biggest one I've ever seen in my life! The size of that thing…"

"And those beady, red eyes…"

"Yeah, and what about those claws?"

"And that creepy tail?"

"And those sharp teeth?"

The constant descriptions only added to Dipper's over-nervousness. "Girls, no offense, but you're not helping!"

Mabel bemoaned to her barely younger brother, "Come on, Dipper! You gotta help us out! Grunkle Stan and Soos just left for town, so it's going to be a while before they come back!"

"Yeah, Dipper!" Wendy attempted to encourage her cohort. "I mean, you got this covered. Besides, you're always talking about how you go monster hunting and creature seeking in the woods. Something like this should be a piece of cake, right?"

A sense of bravery rose from deep within the twelve-year-old's psyche. There was no way he could back out now, especially after what Wendy just said. Ever since the events at the haunted Dusk2Dawn convenience store, Dipper had obtained the unofficial status of being Wendy's "brave, little hero." This was a title that he was more than willing to live up to (especially for her sake).

With renewed vigor, Dipper made his way towards the opposite end of the room when he heard Wendy call out from behind him:

"Here, Dipper! Use this!"

She had reached behind the counter and tossed a broom to her friend for protection. Dipper leapt up and clumsily caught the makeshift weapon with both hands. As he readied a defensive position, Mabel piped in her own advice,

"Watch out, Dipper! It looks like it likes to bite! I think it likes to bite things!"

He sighed to himself, "Thanks, Mabel…"

Wendy saw that the child took Mabel's warning lightly, "She's right, Dipper. Just…Just be careful, okay?"

Dipper nodded in response, feeling greatly appreciated by Wendy's concern. He slowly made his way around the corner, his eyes shooting around for any signs of life. Out of the corner of his right eye, Dipper could have sworn to see something gray and fuzzy with a long, pink tail run around the edge of the aisle.

"WHAT…WAS THAT THING?!" he asked himself.

Both females were standing on the countertop, screaming and pointing at the fleeing creature, "THERE, DIPPER! THERE IT GOES! HURRY!"

Dipper turned the corner to see the ferocious thing face-to-face. A salt-and-pepper colored possum stood quivering in front of the towering pre-teen. Its tiny eyes seemingly pleaded with the armed boy staring down at it.

"HA!" Dipper laughed in disbelief. "_This_ is the scary creature that had you two screaming?" He bent down to take a closer look.

"Dipper…" Wendy warned.

"On second thought, it's kind of cute…" Dipper figured that the animal must have snuck inside as the various numbers of tourists went in and out of the small shop. He gently nudged at the possum using the bristled end of the broom. "It's okay, little fella. We have to get you outta here."

All of a sudden, the possum's disposition changed vastly. It quickly rose to all fours and snarled at Dipper. The sad eyes that he originally took pity upon were now an almost-demonic blood red. The cornered animal crept forward with its jagged teeth exposed.

"Whoa, now!" Dipper started to backpedal. "Remember, buddy; I'm on your side!"

Without further warning, the possum charged forward with a horrifying screech. Dipper shrieked at the sight, closing his eyes and swinging the broom at random. After a few seconds, Dipper opened his eyes to see that his opponent had disappeared.

Exhausted, Dipper called out to the girls, "Did I…Did I get him?"

Wendy cupped her hands, "No, dude! You totally missed!"

"Did you guys see where it went?"

Suddenly, Dipper could hear the sounds of several objects crashing a few aisles over. Wendy and Mabel both shouted over each other:

"Dipper, it ran down that aisle!"

"No, Dipper! It's on the shelf with the trucker caps!"

"Hurry up, Dipper! It's against the back wall!"

"I think I saw it in the rafters!"

Dipper turned around to chastise the girls barking orders at him, "ONE AT A TIME, OKAY?!" He noticed that both girls displayed a look of utter horror and fear.

"Dip…" Mabel forced herself to mumble out.

"Dork…" Wendy also had trouble finding the right words as well.

"What?! What's wrong?!"

Wendy and Mabel silently pointed behind the young boy. With a gulp, Dipper slowly turned around to see a pair of glowing red eyes focused solely on him. He glanced up to see that the possum was hanging upside down (via its tail) from the ceiling. The creature leapt onto Dipper's capped head with a growl, forcing the boy to scream in terror.

"AAH! Get it off! Get it off!"

With his blue and white hat blocking his sight, Dipper spun around blindly, crashing into several different shelves covered in merchandise, sending their contents flying to the floor. He could feel the tiny claws pinch his vest as the possum traveled around his body. Dipper tried to fling the creature off using the broom, but when that failed, he threw it down and tried to pat around to locate the beast.

Unbeknownst to Dipper, the critter had managed to find its way to his back. As he cried out, "Where'd did it go?" the possum raised its head, prepared to sink its teeth into the child's soft flesh…

*WHAM!*

Wendy carefully swung at the animal with the discarded broom, perfectly removing the menace from Dipper's back without injury. With a whimper, the possum ran out the open exit, to which Mabel firmly sealed shut afterwards.

The redhead shouted after the possum, pointing the broom out towards the horizon, as an Amazonian warrior would with her sword, "And stay out!"

Mabel ran up to the gloating freckled teenager, "Wendy…THAT WAS AWESOME! You really nailed that bad boy!"

Wendy used her thumb to lift her brown trapper hat with pride, "Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I?"

"Totally! You were like *KA-BLAM!* and it was like, "Oh, no way!" And you were all like, "Yeah, take that!"

Wendy laughed at the manic descriptions presented by her tiny friend. Mabel continued onward, "But the best had to be Dipper." She took a white and blue cap from the stand next to her, making sure it was very similar to the one her brother usually wore. In her deepest, bravado voice, the braced girl tried her best to impersonate her twin.

"Gee, don't worry, girls! I'll handle this!"

She put her hands to her chubby cheeks, "Oh, it's so cute!" She pulled her hat down over her eyes, "AHH! Get it off! Save me!"

Wendy looked down on her silly friend, "Hmm…nah!"

Mabel raised her cap high enough to see her super-tall co-worker.

" If anything, I'd say it was more like-" Wendy lowered her trapper hat over her face, joining in on the fun. "AAAAHHHH! Where is it?! Where is it?!" the girl teased in her best Dipper-esque voice, as she spun around in circles, wailing her arms wildly.

"Oh, yeah," Mabel agreed. "He _did_ do that, didn't he?!" She pulled the hat over her eyes once more, and spun along aside her friend as they playfully traded mockingly screams. Both girls continued until they dizzily collided into each other. Laughing hysterically, they fell to the ground in a tangled mess.

Getting over her case of the giggles, Wendy started again, "But all joking aside, Dipper, it was very sweet of you to come to our-"

The teenager raised her brown cap to see that he had vanished from sight.

Somewhat concerned, Wendy rose to her feet. She scanned the ruined shop to see where "her boy" had run off to.

"Dipper?"

She swiftly bent down to help Mabel up, who quickly shared Wendy's sentiment. She looked around, and then her brown eyes shot up, meeting the redhead's fretful green ones.

"Where'd he go?"

* * *

Dipper sat on the ledge just outside of his room, staring quietly out the red-tinted, triangle shaped window. With a hand pressed against his chin, he sighed as he watched the sun set over the treetops of the Gravity Falls Forest. Suddenly, he heard a voice shout out from behind him, instantly breaking his concentration.

"What the hey-hey, Broseph?" His twin Mabel was able to sneak up on the distracted boy. "We just finished straightening up the Shack, and Wendy went home for the night..."

Dipper continued to sit with his back to his sister, showing no response to her words.

"Um, she said to tell you "good night…"

The pre-teen simply heaved again without moving a muscle.

"She also said that she would love to take you out tomorrow night," the young girl fibbed, hoping to get a rise out of her sibling. "So you'll have to put on your 'Sunday best.'"

Dipper said nothing in return.

Somewhat annoyed, Mabel ran up and shook his shoulder, "Dipper, what's going on? Why are you so down in the dumps?"

After a moment of silence, she finally heard a faint whisper, "You were there, Mabel. You've seen what happened…"

A shade of guilt entered the back of Mabel's mind. While it was true that she and Wendy were poking fun at Dipper, neither of them meant any harm. They were laughing at more the circumstance rather than the person himself. After all, he was trying to help them in the first place!

"Dipper," she explained. "I was…err…we were just…we didn't mean…"

While continuing to watch the sunset, Dipper clarified further, "I made a fool of myself, Mabel. Wendy asked me to help her, and I totally embarrassed myself in front of her. "

"Oh!" Mabel exclaimed, relieved that she was not the source of Dipper's sadness. A second later, the reality of his words struck her.

"Ohh…."

Mabel squeezed his shoulder tighter, "Come on, Dipper! You know Wendy's not like that! Don't you realize that she thinks the world of you for _just_ answering that call for help?"

Dipper slightly turned his head, offering a tiny smile to his twin before returning his attention to the outside world. "Thanks for saying that, Mabel," he said. "But you're my sister. You _have_ to say things like that…"

Mabel shook her head in disbelief as Dipper went on, "It's just that…that Wendy knew that if she was ever in trouble, I'd be willing to do _anything_ to get her out! I completely ruined that, Mabel! And that's something I can't make better so easily! Heck, Mabel…"

The boy's demeanor lowered ever further as he forced out his next sentence.

"That's the one thing I could say that I had _over Robbie_. Sure, he has tight pants and can play the guitar, but I was the one that Wendy could count on when she's in a jam! But now, what good am I?"

"Don't say that, Dipper!"

"But it's true, Mabel! I just showed Wendy that I am nothing but a scared, little kid!" He sunk down further, leading his face into his arms crossed on the windowsill. "How can I face her now?"

"So, that's it, then?" Mabel implored. "You're just going to spend the rest of the summer hiding up in the attic?" Dipper shrugged his shoulders at the claim.

Mabel turned on her heels and headed for the stairs, "Well, I know _one way_ to get to the bottom of things…"

"WAIT!"

Mabel turned to see Dipper looking at her with widen eyes.

"Mabel, you have to promise me that you won't say a word to Wendy about this!"

"But, Dipper!"

"Mabel! Promise me!"

Cornered, the pre-teen raised her hand and swore to her brother, "I promise I won't tell Wendy about this…even though you're being _completely_ unreasonable…"

"No, I'm not!" Dipper protested. "…and thank you." He returned to his sitting position, focusing on his own inner pain.

Mabel took one last look at her sulking brother, and then proceeded down the stairs. She recalled the story of what happened at the Dusk2Dawn convenience store, where she was told Dipper saved Wendy and her friends from vicious, teenage-hating ghosts; she had no memory of the experience, as she was going through a Smile-Dip crash (or a ghostly possession as Wendy and Dipper claimed)at the time. She also noted that Dipper's reasoning might have some footing, since it was true that the lanky freckled faced girl grew closer to her secret admirer after that day.

Despite that, she knew that deep down, Dipper's fears over Wendy were nothing over than mere exaggeration. However, she had no idea how to even begin to make things right…

* * *

A few days later, Mabel was sitting on the floor of the Mystery Shack's parlor, playing with her pet pig, Waddles. Forcing the swine into a sitting position, the high-spirited girl gently wiggled his front legs as she confided her worries.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Waddles," Mabel explained to her friend. "It's been days, and Dipper still hasn't come down from the attic. I keep trying to explain to him that he shouldn't be embarrassed over that whole thing with Wendy and the possum, but he just won't listen to reason! He feels like he let her down or something…" She cradled his hooves a bit tighter, "Boys can just be so…silly sometimes; thankfully, you're _nothing_ like that!"

The pig snorted at the brunette's compliment.

Her vision narrowed down at the creature silently looking back at her with a slanted perspective. The downtrodden girl asked for guidance, "So, what do you say, Waddles? Any advice to offer?"

"So that's what's going on!"

Mabel drew closer to the pig, "Waddles! You talked!" She excitedly hugged the pig in celebration before she came to the realization that the voice came from _behind_ her. Mabel turned around to see Wendy leaning against the doorway.

"WENDY!" Mabel shrieked. "How…How long were you standing there?"

The gingered girl crossed her arms, raising a boot against the folding, "Long enough…" She looked down at her friend with sympathetic eyes. "But don't you worry, Mabel," the teenager calmed the fretful girl as she rolled up her plaid-colored sleeves, "I'll straighten that boy out in no time!"

As Wendy turned to leave the room, Mabel hopped to her feet, forcing Waddles to fall into his side gently. She quickly ran and pulled on the back of Wendy's flannel, "Wait, Wendy! You can't!"

The lanky girl returned her attention to the pleading child behind her, "Hey, watch the threads, short stuff!"

Mabel started to explain her situation, "But Wendy, you don't understand! I promised Dipper I wouldn't tell you about this!"

Wendy lowered her eyes, "Relax, buddy. If anyone asks, I'll say I heard it from the pig, okay?"

Waddles squealed loudly, as if in response to being the proposed stool pigeon.

"Please, Wendy!" Mabel begged as she maintained her grip on Wendy's shirt. "If you go and confront him about this, it's only going to make things worse! I just know it!"

She twirled around to face Mabel, "Well, we can't just let him stay up there forever! What is it that you want to do about him?"

"I don't know!" Mabel distressed, bringing her tiny hands to her face. "I just wish-I wish that there was a way that we can help him get his confidence back. You know, make him feel like a "hero," then I'm sure things would go back to normal."

After a second, Wendy's eyes lit up as an idea entered her mind, "What if we _could_?"

"Huh?"

Wendy lowered herself to Mabel's level, "Think about it for a second: what if we set up Dipper with a problem where he can easily overcome it, making him feel like a 'hero?'" The teenager motioned her index and middle fingers to _empathize_ the importance of the word, "hero." She continued on with her theory, "Afterwards, Dipper feels like himself again, and everything goes back to the way it should. " She smiled at her pre-teen companion, "How's that sound?"

Mabel was flabbergasted. "That…" she mumbled. "That sounds like…that might _actually_ work."

Wendy's smile deepened further. "Glad to hear it." She moved closer to Mabel, "So, this is what we should do…"

The redhead whispered into Mabel's ear, causing the girl to giggle and snicker along to the details. After a minute or two, Wendy pulled back and asked, "So, whatcha think?"

Mabel cheered her friend, "That sounds awesome!" She extended her hand out, motioning for Wendy to join her. "Let's do it, girlfriend!"

Wendy placed her hand on top of Mabel's tiny hand, and laughed, "Ok, then. On three!"

"1…2…3!"

Both girls threw their arms up in the air with a "Whoo!" in celebration of their shared plot. With that, they set off in an effort to revive Dipper's fallen spirits…


	2. Chapter 2

Dipper's diminutive form tossed and turned as he was lost in the throes of sleep. The same nightmare had plagued his troubled mind for the last week. The young boy found himself running down a long and swirled colored corridor, as the voices of his two loved ones echoed through the hallway. The sound of his own name resonated deeply in his ears.

He finally arrived at his destination after running for what seemed like forever. Dipper threw his weight against the wooden door, revealing a completely trashed Mystery Shack Gift Shop.

"Oh no," he panicked as a sense of déjà vu came upon him. "Not again!"

Dipper turned to his right to see that both girls were missing from the shop's counter.

"Mabel? Wendy?" Dipper called out in worry as he searched the remnants. "Where are you guys? Are you okay?"

The boy froze in his tracks as a monstrous growl came from behind him. Before Dipper could turn around completely, something tackled him to the ground. He screamed in terror as he rolled across the floor, bumping into the ruined merchandise as he attempted to free himself. The creature's deafening screeching pierced Dipper's eardrums.

As he struggled, Dipper was finally able to make out something besides the random flashes of gray fur. Two pairs of feet stood inches away from his head. One pair was in black slip-ons, and the other in brown, mud-stained boots. He looked up to see Mabel and Wendy peering down over him with their arms crossed.

"Careful, Dipper," Mabel laughed at her twin. "I think it likes to bite!"

"Yeah, Dipper," Wendy added in, with a sinister smirk spread across her face. "It _definitely_ likes to bite!"

Even though he couldn't see it, Dipper could feel the beast raise its head and sunk its fangs into the depth of his back, making him cry out in severe pain! As his world faded to black, he could hear both Mabel and Wendy mockingly call out his name.

"DIP-PER!"

"DIP-PER!"

"DIP-PER!"

The boy gasped as he awoke from the horrid dream. His brow was completely covered with beads of sweat. He lifted his sheets up to see that his entire body was drenched in perspiration.

"Eww…" he groaned to himself. "I really hope that is sweat…"

"DIPPER!"

The shaken child nearly jumped out of bed at the call. He looked to see his sister Mabel standing at the edge of his bed. For some reason, the girl had an alarmed expression on her face.

"Jeez, Dipper!" she complained. "You take _forever_ to wake up!"

Annoyed, Dipper snuggled back under his blankets, and resumed facing the wall. "What is it, Mabel?"

His twin continued on, "Dipper, you need to come downstairs! I think-"

Dipper interrupted, "Mabel, I told you. I'm not going downstairs. I'm not going outside."

"But, Dipper…"

"No buts about it, Mabel! Whatever _it_ is is going to have to wait." The stubborn pre-teen clutched into a ball, closing his eyes in an effort to return to a peaceful sleep. A split second later, Mabel was at his bedside, violently shaking his shoulder.

"That's the thing, Dipper! I don't think Wendy has that much time!"

Dipper's eyes shot open at the mention of his crush's name. He slowly rotated to meet his sister. "What are you talking about?"

The frantic girl threw her arms in the air, "Dipper…I think Wendy's…_been kidnapped_!"

He sat up in his orange-covered bed, raising an eyebrow at Mabel's claim, "This is some kind of trick, right?"

Mabel shook her head, "No, Dipper! Honest! Wendy came into work about an hour ago, and when I stopped in to say "hi" after my chores, she was gone! It looks like there was a struggle down there! There's even a ransom note, Dipper!"

The young detective sighed at his twin's descriptions. He honestly believed that this was some sort of ploy to get him to leave the attic. However, he wasn't willing to take the chance in ignoring this in the small probability _that Mabel may actually be right_.

With great effort, Dipper pulled himself out of bed, "I swear, Mabel, if this is a joke…"

Mabel snatched her brother's arm, "Come on already!" The tiny lass dragged her befuddled brother down the stairs and into the Gift Shop, where Wendy was regularly stationed. Dipper noted that once again, the floor was covered with overturned commodities. This time, it appeared as if everything was thrown from the countertop rather than the shelves.

Dipper hurried around the other side with his sights focused on the one remaining object on the ledge. Wendy's brown trapper hat sat solitary on the edge. As Dipper took hold of his secret love's possession, Mabel pointed downwards at it,

"See, Dipper? Look!"

A crumbled note was pinned to the side of the brown cap. Dipper reached down and unhooked the memo. He scrunched his eyes as the "ransom" wasn't typed or handwritten; instead, someone used a series of letters ripped cut out of various newspapers and magazines:

"iF yOu WaNt tHe GiRl BaCk,  
WaIt FoR oUr CaLl.  
mEeT oUr DeMaNdS,  
oR eLsE, sHe'Ll PaY tHe PrIcE fOr YoUr FaIlUrE.  
yOu HaVe BeEn WaRnEd…"

Mabel ran to her brother's side, "Dipper, what do we do now?"

Still somewhat stunned, Dipper tried to stumble to an answer, "I…I don't…" However, the intelligent lad couldn't shake the feeling that everything seems so _convenient_, considering what had happened over the last few days. As he scanned the area for more clues, an idea popped into his head. He set the brown hat down, and turned on the security monitor next to Wendy's station.

"What are you doing?" Mabel asked. "Shouldn't you be mounting a rescue or something like that?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Dipper shooed away the overanxious girl. "I have to double-check something first…"

"But, Dipper, what-"

"SHUSH!"

Dipper hit the rewind button to display the footage from roughly an hour earlier. As the tape slowed, he viewed a black and white image of Wendy sitting on her stool, her nose buried in the current teen magazine. After a minute or so, Dipper lightly tapped the fast forward button, hoping to get to the bottom of things.

He jammed on the resume button as Dipper spotted a new figure step into the scene. A hooded being dressed entirely in black approached Wendy's counter. The lanky teenager put down her magazine and offered a tiny wave to the stranger. Despite the lack of sound in the footage, Dipper could see that the guest and Wendy began to converse. After a few seconds, Wendy's expression changed from friendly and upbeat to perplexed, shifting suddenly to anger.

As he studied the tape further, Dipper asked himself, "_What did this person say to make Wendy react in that way? It had to be something messed up for her to lose her cool like that!_"

The black garbed shape pointed towards the ceiling (or upstairs as Dipper could guess), prompting Wendy to shake her head. The person threw its fist against the countertop, making the freckled teen flinch in reflex. Infuriated, Wendy met the outsider face to face, and pointed towards the exit.

Instead of abiding by the redhead's command to leave, the being reached over the counter and grabbed the ginger's wrist, making her gasp in shock. Wendy attempted to free herself, inadvertently knocking over several articles of Mystery Shack merchandise. She even tried to toss a few projectiles at her attacker, whom was easily able to dodge Wendy's defenses.

With its next attempt, the hooded individual was able to secure Wendy's other wrist, leaving her totally helpless. As she struggled to break its hold, Dipper watched as the black-dressed form turned its head, and an instant later, two more in the same clothing appeared at its side. They raced behind the counter, each taking up one of Wendy's arms. They proceeded to pull the defiant girl out from her station, despite Wendy kicking and dragging her feet every step of the way.

Just before they left the frame of the security camera, Dipper noticed that Wendy turned her head and cried into the distance. Without needing to hear her voice, he could tell by reading her lips what she had said:

"HELP! DIPPER! HELP! PLEASE!"

Heartbroken, Dipper sunk down onto the nearly stool, unsure what to think.

"_Mabel was right_…" he pondered to himself. "_And_ _worse, Wendy was counting on me to help her_." His head lowered upon deeper realization, "_I let her down…because of my own hurt pride and embarrassment, I let her down…again. If only I hadn't spent the last week hiding out in the attic…_"

His concentration was interrupted by Mabel nudging his shoulder, "What happens now? Grunkle Stan has been giving tours since dawn and won't be back until dusk, and I'm not sure where Soos is."

Dipper reached over and picked up Wendy's hat. He silently re-read the ransom note over and over again, in an attempt to figure out an answer to what had happened. He turned to his twin.

"What else can we do? We wait for the call…"

* * *

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours. Dipper stared at the clock as it moved at a turtle's pace. A million different questions flashed through his baffled mind: Who were those cloaked people? What did they want with Wendy? Was the ransom addressed specifically to him?

He replayed the footage in his mind, trying to make sense of the situation. He recalled the first stranger pointing up towards the ceiling. Was he right in thinking that it was referring to the upstairs portion of the Mystery Shack, or more specifically, where he and Mabel resided? The image of Wendy shaking her head repeatedly came next, to which only enraged the stranger. Dipper gulped as he came to the conclusion that Wendy might have been taken because _she was trying to protect him and his family_. The mere thought only added to his already-heavily guilty conscience.

The only question that remained was _who_ exactly was Wendy protecting them from? In his short stay in Gravity Falls, Dipper did make a ton of enemies, many who had sworn vengeance against the twelve year old. Were those hooded creeps part of the mysterious organization to which Sheriff Blubbs and the GFPD swore allegiance to? Or perhaps were they minions of Lil' Gideon, and poor Wendy got caught up in another one of his schemes to steal away the Mystery Shack?

Abruptly, the phone on the counter rang loudly, making the young boy jump off the stool in fright. Gathering every bit of courage, Dipper reached for the telephone, silently reciting to himself,

"_Remember, you gotta be brave…for her…"_

On the third ring, Dipper took up the receiver and held it to his ear. In a fury, the tiny boy let loose a barrage of questions for the person on the other end:

"Who is this?! Where is Wendy?! ANSWER ME!"

A quiet voice came out of the speaker, "Isn't this Joey's Pizzeria? I don't know who Wendy is, but I wanted to order an extra-large with double pepperoni and anchovies?"

Dipper sighed at the response, "Sorry. Wrong number…" He sadly put the phone back down as Mabel simply shrugged her shoulders at her humiliated brother. Once more, the phone started ringing again. Still wound up, Dipper snatched up the speaker,

"Listen, man! I already told you. We don't serve pizza here!"

A raspy, somewhat metallic voice responded, "Well, well, if it isn't young Dipper Pines…"

"Who…?"

"I think you already know. After all, it seems apparent you've received our note…"

Dipper's confusion quickly changed to rage, "Where's Wendy?! What do you people want?!"

The voice laughed at the boy's worry, "All in due time. The way we see it, you have something we want, and we have _someone_ you want…"

"Something you want…?"

"We know about the journal, Dipper." The voice explained. "And we know about all the wonderful secrets you keep locked away inside of it. So, how's about we consider a trade? The girl for the book?"

"Hang on!" Dipper demanded. "I'm not doing _anything_ until I hear from Wendy herself! How do I know she's okay? If you freaks want my journal, I talk to Wendy NOW!"

A moment of silence passed on the receiving end. Dipper could make out the faint sounds of something shifting around in the background. After a second or two, a shaken, broken voice called out to him,

"D-Dipper?"

His eyes widen upon recognizing the voice on the other line. "WENDY!" he exclaimed. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm-I'm okay, Dipper. They didn't hurt me…"

The pre-teen started to pour his heart out, "Wendy, I'm so, so sorry about everything. I shoulda-I shoulda… I promise: everything's going to be all right; I swear it!"

"I know…but, Dipper," she warned her friend. "You need to be careful. These people…they're planning a trap! You got to-"

All of a sudden, Wendy's voice cut off. Dipper heard a series of grunts amid the sounds of a struggle. Wendy's shrieks flowed from the opposite receiver, making every hair on Dipper's body stand up straight.

"WENDY?! WENDY?!"

Once more, Dipper's spirits lowered as he realized that Wendy had put herself in danger's way _again_ in order to help him out. His heart raced as he could only imagine what tortures these people would put the spunky redhead through in retaliation for her insolence.

After a brief quiet that seemed like an entity, Wendy's captor came back on the line, "Now that that's settled…"

Dipper screamed into the receiver, "What did you do to her?! If you dare harm one hair on her head…"

The kidnapper laughed at the petty intimidation, "BAH! You are in no position to be threatening anyone, kid! If you really are concerned for her well-being, I'd recommend you watch your tone! Understand?!"

Feeling totally helpless, Dipper could do nothing but heave in response, "Yes. I understand."

"Good boy! If you want the girl back, bring the journal to the empty clearing in the Gravity Falls Woods in one hour! Come alone, or else, risk Wendy's safety. After all, we wouldn't want any daring rescue attempts, would we? See you soon! Don't keep her waiting too long; she just might _die_ from the anticipation! "

*CLICK*

Dipper stood with the phone beeping in his hand, trying to get a handle on what just occurred. Mabel rushed to her brother's side.

"What?!" the young metal-mouthed girl asked. "What happened?! What did they say?!"

Dipper couldn't find the strength to look his twin in the eye. "They want the journal," he explicated. "Or else…" He forced himself to finish the sentence, despite its horrible meaning, "Or else, they're going to hurt her…"

Mabel gasped, bringing her sweater-covered sleeves to her mouth. After a moment of alarm, the tiny pixie rebounded full of energy, "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"NO!" Dipper held his hand up to her. "They said I have to go…_alone_!"

"Dipper, you can't!" Mabel protested. "That's crazy!"

"I know it is, Mabel, but what choice to do I have?" He walked away from his overly worried twin, and threw a fist into an empty palm. "It's my fault Wendy's in this mess in the first place, so I'm going to get her out…_no matter what_ it takes!"

Dipper leaped over the counter and bolted back up the barely functioning stairs. In a flash, he was out of his sleepwear and into his street clothes. Dipper rushed to his closet, dropped to his knees and began sifting through the piles of junk that he and Mabel had accumulated in their short stay.

The determined child gathered any item that could be used a weapon and tossed it to the side. Wendy did warn him that these enemies were planning some sort of ambush, so he needed to be well equipped. Unfortunately, it would be the _only_ advantage Dipper had in such a dire situation. He slid under his bed, pulled out his knapsack, and tried to squeeze as many supplies as he could into it.

With great effort, Dipper hoisted the bulging backpack onto his shoulders. The heavy weight sent the small adolescent flying backwards, forcing him to readjust his footing. After a moment, he was able to move freely.

As a final precaution, Dipper climbed to the edge of his bed facing the wall and reached in the crevice below, retrieving a silver aluminum baseball bat. He had always kept the weapon hidden at his bedside, just in case any supernatural creatures dared to attack him in the middle of the night. He mounted the bat against his backside, just in between the straps of the knapsack, securing it in place. Dipper picked up the torn-up journal marked with the golden #3 from his bed and tucked it into his navy blue vest.

He walked over to the mirror and examined himself. Adjusting the cap on his head, he took a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves. He had to stay cool and collected _for her sake_.

Mabel squeezed Waddles tightly for comfort as she heard a set of footsteps come back down the old, wooden stairs. Dipper threw open the parlor room door, making his twin exclaim at the bulk he had with him.

"Whoa, Dipper! Did you _have_ to bring the whole room with you?"

He ignored her sarcasm, "I don't know what to expect out there, Mabel. I have to be ready for anything I get tossed at me."

Mabel nodded to his reasoning. After a brief stillness, she placed her hand on his shoulder, "Dipper, is there any way I can convince you not to go? We can find another…"

He turned his head slightly, "I can't let her down, again, Mabel. I _won't_ let her down again…"

His grim answer made the young girl frown. Sensing that Mabel was upset, Dipper held her hand in an effort to reassure her, "It's like how I promised Wendy: _everything's going to be all right_. " Seeing that his action did have an effect on Mabel's demeanor, Dipper started to head out to the rendezvous.

"Wait!" Mabel made her brother stop in his tracks. "Aren't you going to take the Mystery Cart there?"

"No way!" Dipper exclaimed. "They'd hear me coming from a mile away!" He pointed at the side of his head. "If I go on foot, at least I'll have the element of surprise!"

As he opened the exit door, Mabel called out one last time, "Dipper…" she faltered to find the right words, "…what if…what if you don't…"

The tween closed his eyes and exhaled at the idea. He spun around to face his doubtful sister, "Listen, I'm supposed to meet these people in the clearing in the forest. If I'm not back within two hours, tell Stan or Soos; whoever comes back first…"

He offered a smile to calm her nerves, "…but don't worry! I _will_ bring Wendy back home!" As he walked out the door, he gave a small wave to which Mabel returned, "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck! And be careful, Dipper!"

Mabel set her pet down, and hurried to the window. She watched as the image of her confident brother gradually faded away into the darkness of the Gravity Falls Woods. As soon as Dipper was out of sight, the perky ball of energy ran back to her pig staring blankly back at her. She dipped herself in front of Waddles,

"Aaaannnndddd…the award for "Best Supporting Actress" goes to…"

With a spring in her step, Mabel rushed behind the gift shop counter and pulled out a small, gray walkie-talkie from the bottom drawer. She turned the dial as it gave off a loudening *CLICK.* Mabel fumbled through a series of static and garbled white noise as she attempted to make contact with her partner in crime.

"Baby Bear to Mama Bird! Baby Bear to Mama Bird! Come in, Mama Bird, over!"

After a moment or two, Mabel heard the hearty laughter of her redheaded co-worker, "This is Mama Bird. How goes the progress of "Operation: How Dipper Got His Groove Back?""

"Wendy! You have to say "over" at the end of each transmission! Over!"

The ginger chuckled at Mabel's dedication, "Oops…my bad…over!"

"That's more like it! Chewy Squirrel has taken the bait. I repeat, Chewy Squirrel has taken the bait, and is on his way to your location! Over!"

"Did he check the security cameras like I said he would? Err…over!"

"Yes, in-deedy! He felt for it, hook, line, and sinker! Over!"

"Good to hear, Baby Bear! Maintain radio silence until further notice. Thanks again for your assistance, Baby Bear! Over!"

"Roger that, Mama Bird! Good luck! This is Baby Bear signing out for the day! Over!"

Mabel shut the walkie off and returned it back to its hiding place. She resumed her position by the window, hoping that this elaborate plot would be enough to bring everything back to normal…

* * *

Dipper slowly made his way deeper in the Gravity Falls Forest. Normally, the young sleuth would relish in the opportunity to frolic in the natural surroundings, but the bleak task at hand prevented any sort of relief. Even though it was the middle of the day, everything seemed to emit a sense of dread and dreary. He couldn't shake the feeling that even the trees themselves were watching his every move.

He opted to stray from the main path to lessen his chances of being attacked unexpectedly. As he moved gracefully from behind tree to tree, Dipper found himself thankful for his small stature (for once). The careful rescuer jumped at the sound of every insect and crackle of leaves, only to discover it was nothing more than that.

"_Get a grip, Dipper!_" he coached himself, bringing his hands to his clammy face, "_Things are only going to get worse before they get better!_"

At long last, Dipper came to the designated clearing in the center of the woods. From behind a giant tree trunk, he spied out into the distance and gasped at what was laid out before him.

His secret crush, Wendy Corduroy, was left bound to the solitary tree standing in the clearing. Her eyes were closed tightly, yet Dipper could see the moisture left over from spilled tears. A red bandanna gagged her mouth. Her arms were tied behind her securely with thick, brown rope wrapping all the way around her torso. In a sense of irony, a beam of sunlight broke through the green-tinted treetops of the forest, illuminating the red-tinted crown of the damsel-in-distress.

Dipper had to stop himself as every fiber in his being wanted to blindly rush to Wendy's side. Things were _too_ quiet. After taking a minute to fully look around, he began to tip-toe closer to her. Not so much as a peep from the surrounding area. "They must be looking around for me," he thought to himself. "Good call on not taking the Mystery Cart with me…"

As he gently nudged her, Wendy's eyes widen, making the confused girl look around in a frantic. She peered downwards, and spotted her tiny liberator.

"DIP-MMM!" Wendy muffled through her gag.

He held a finger up to his lips to silence her. Wendy nodded in retort.

"Hang tight…" he whispered to her. "I'll have you free in a jiffy!"

As he ran to the other side of the tree to start loosening her ropes, Dipper heard a series of stifled cries coming from the front. He immediately scampered back to Wendy as he seen his friend kick and struggle in vain.

Dipper hopped up and removed her suppress, "What's wrong?"

"BEHIND YOU! THEY'RE HERE!"

He turned around to see that his three hooded nemeses had blocked off any chance of escape. In response, Dipper stood in front of Wendy and threw his arms out to protect her from harm's way. Unaware to him, the ginger blushed at his sweet gesture.

The three opponents simply stared at the duo while maintaining their ground. Eerily enough, Dipper noticed that their faces weren't visible beyond the length of the hoods themselves. He knew he had enough time to make a break for it, but had no intention of leaving Wendy trapped and alone. Left without any other choice, Dipper relinquished the journal from his vest and threw it on the ground.

"There!" he shouted. "You want it so badly, then, just take it!" He pointed towards the mystic creatures, "Now, keep your end of the bargain and leave _us_ alone!"

The center person slightly tilted its head at the book. After a moment of awkward silence, the three moved in tandem past the journal, and towards the two youngsters with arms extended.

"I knew it!" The phrase flashed through Dipper's mind like a silent alarm. "They have _no intention_ of letting us go!" As he backed away, he felt himself bump straight into Wendy. He looked up and seen her emerald eyes shine down on him. The teen offered a small, yet brave smile for support, as if to say, "_you can do it_!"

With his courage restored, Dipper stepped forward, "All right! I didn't want to do this..." He quickly equipped the silver bat from behind his back and charged towards the center villain. With a quick thrust, Dipper bought the black-dressed captor to its knees, making it cry out in pain. He raised the bat over his head to deliver another blow, only to have it yanked out of his hands by another hooded creep.

The injured scoundrel pulled back its hood, revealing a multi-eyed purple-colored monster. Dipper yelped and jumped back in shock. He watched in horror as its two cohorts did the same, showing their true forms to be of a sickly, yellow lizard and a bright-green cyclops.

"Oh, man!" Dipper worried, "It's worse than I thought! They're not even _human_!"

Wendy shouted overhead, "RUN, DIPPER!"

Heeding his crush's advice, Dipper headed back into the green. After traveling a few yards away, he ducked behind a series of bushes. Peeling aside a row of branches, the boy peered to see that the lizard and cyclops were on the other side of the field, checking every nook and cranny for him.

"Well, there goes the stealthy approach," Dipper chastised himself. He dropped his knapsack and explored its contents, hoping to find a way to even the odds. At long last, Dipper found a set of items that would serve as a perfect distraction. Deep down, the small lad knew the truth: there was _no way_ that he could take on all three fiends and win. His best shot was to buy just enough time to free Wendy and escape.

From his inventory, Dipper clutched a series of firecrackers in his right hand. With a lighter placed in his left, he drooped down further as he waited for the enemy to come to him. The sounds of leaves rustling became louder and noisier.

"Come on, big boy…" Dipper hoped as he heard one of the demons come nearer. "Just a bit closer…"

As the being came upon him, Dipper lit the fuse of the bundle of explosives and jumped up from his hiding place.

"Hey, ugly! Catch!"

He discovered that it was the lizard-man that had stumbled into his trap. Without further warning, Dipper tossed the package into its midsection. The firecrackers instantly started to burst violently in the yellow claws, sending the stunned beast stumbling backwards into the foliage.

"Two down…"

Dipper raised his head to see where the cyclops had gone. Everything had become extremely quiet once more, making the tension heighten within the boy. As a precaution, he rushed back to Wendy's side to ensure that she remained unharmed.

Upon returning to the empty field, Dipper spotted the redheaded teen still fixed to the giant tree.

"C'mon, Wendy! We gotta get outta-"

An expression of horror came upon the hostage, "DIPPER!"

Before he could respond, the twelve year old felt something roughly behind him from behind. He was spun around to see the giant eyeball of the cyclops staring down at him. Dipper cried out as he was hoisted into the air. His backpack slipped onto the grassy ground, spilling some of its contents messily all over the place.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Wendy screamed as she stretched out as much as her restraints would allow. "He hasn't done ANYTHING to you!"

Using Wendy's plea as a diversion, Dipper repeatedly kicked the monster's black-covered torso in hopes of slipping away. The cyclops dropped the struggling boy, making him land roughly on his knees. In a scurry, Dipper reached around and seized the first item he could find. With great confidence, he held up his chosen weapon,

"Don't me make use this!" The boy attempted to keep the final monster at bay with a can of hairspray.

The one-eyed creature looked down at Dipper's defense. It started to bellow out a loud, mockingly laugh. Even Wendy raised an eyebrow at the odd choice.

Despite this, a smirk slowly crept into Dipper's face as he pulled out the lighter from his vest. He held the bottle straight up, turned on the flame, and sprayed, issuing a warning fireball into the air. The cyclops instantly began to shift away at the sight of the makeshift flamethrower.

Seeing he had the upper hand, Dipper closed in on the final beast with a bit of gusto in his step. "You know," he spoke up. "It's one thing to mess with me. I mean, people have done it all my life, so, I'm used to it…"

Dipper pointed the weapon combination at his foe, "…but no one, and I mean, _NO ONE messes with MY GIRL!_ GOT IT?!"

The overzealous comment gave Wendy rosy cheeks for the second time within the last few minutes.

Unexpectedly, the cyclops dropped to its knees, and gave off a time-out signal with its green limbs, "Okay, little guy! I'm done! I'm done! I give up!"

Dipper stopped in his tracks as the voice sound awfully familiar. Wendy began to shout from behind him, "Dude! What are you doing?!"

The creature turned to confront the girl, "You never said anything about fire, Wendy! Real, painful fire!" Dipper gasped as the cyclops removed its green head, revealing its true identity.

"Thompson?!" Dipper easily recognized one of Wendy's best guy-friends. "I don't understand…"

The other two monsters appeared by Dipper's side. An instant later, two more masks were tossed to the ground, revealing both Nate and Lee as the red and yellow monsters respectively.

"Yeah, Wendy! Who said anything about letting Dr. Funtimes beat the living daylights out of us!"

Lee chimed in, "I thought we were just suppose to scare him…"

Enraged, Wendy wiggled around, and a second later, freed her arms. She pointed at her friends, "You _were_ _supposed_ to scare him…and let him _win_!"

Nate rubbed where Dipper had previously jammed him with the baseball bat, "If that was him "losing", I'd really hate to see what your idea  
of "him winning" is!"

Thompson stood back up, "I still don't get it, Wendy. Why was it we needed to stage it like you were taken from work?"

After listening to the back-and-forth bickering, Dipper finally found the courage to walk up to his freed crush, "Wendy?"

"Dipper!" Her attention focused on the heartbroken boy at her feet.

"None of this was real?" He threw out his arms in confusion, "Wendy, what is all of this?"

The defeated teenager sighed and placed her hands on his shoulders, "I'm so sorry, Dipper! I didn't mean for things to end up like this…" She gave an angry stare to her three friends standing behind the boy. "It's just that Mabel and I were trying…"

Dipper squirmed out of Wendy's grip and backed away, "Wait…Mabel told you _everything_?! Even after she promised she wouldn't?!" A shade of red embarrassment soon came over the distraught detective.

Wendy held her hands up in defense, "No, Dipper! She didn't tell me!" His cornered friend bit her lip and rubbed the back of her neck, "I kinda overheard her talking…"

His mortification quickly turned to anger, "So, this was supposed to be some sort of practical joke, right?"

"Dipper, please listen…"

He raced to the edges of the clearing, looking into the distance, "And let me guess: any second, Mabel is going to race out with her camera!" He tried to emulate his sister's high-pitch tone, "Look, Dipper! I got the whole thing on film!"

"It's not like that!"

Wendy's heart sunk into her chest as she noticed tears forming under her friend's eyes. "Then, what is it like?!" he demanded. His voice started to break, "I thought they were going to kill you _because of me_! I was so…so scare-"

Dipper stopped in mid-sentence in an attempt to calm himself. He turned away from the emerald green eyes he adored so much, "I'm…I'm just going to go back home…" After retrieving the journal, Dipper scuttled back towards the main path to the Mystery Shack.

"Dipper, wait! Come back!"

The tiny youngster didn't even acknowledge his secret love's request as he disappeared into the wilderness. Wendy closed her eyes and gently sighed to herself, trying to fight off the urge to get teary-eyed herself.

"What was _that_ all about?!"

Wendy returned her attention to her friends, her gloom shifting into fury. "Thanks a lot, you guys!" she fumed. "Now, this whole thing has been for nothing!"

Nate simply crossed his arms, "What's the big deal anyways?"

Thompson carefully approached the raving redhead. "I don't understand, Wendy," he asked out of sincerity. "Why was this so important?"

The girl was caught off guard by the earnest question, making her expression lighten. "Because it is, okay?!" Wendy insisted. "It just is…"

She heaved a heavy sigh, and mumbled under her breath, "…_because he's important_…."

Wendy looked up to see Lee chuckling to himself. She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the blonde, "And what's so funny?!"

The boy wiped a tear away from his eye, "Hehe…he called you "his" girl…"

His mockery of the tender moment was the final straw! Wendy instantly saw red.

"You idiots think this is some sort of joke? I ask you for one little favor, and you guys totally blew it!" The furious ginger threw her arms down, rolling her hands into fists. All three boys' eyes broadened at their livid friend, their faces turning a sickly pale.

Wendy continued with her tirade, "Do you have any idea how hard it's going to be to coax that kid out of his room?!" She shut her eyes, in an effort to calm herself, as her fists shook violently.

"I'm so mad…I can-I can just-"

In the darkness, she could hear the sounds of sneakers hitting the flora-covered ground. Wendy opened her eyes to see the boys race away as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Wusses.." Wendy scoffed at the cowardly teens. Granted, while she did lose her cool, it wasn't as if she was really going to beat them up or anything of the like. Her thoughts quickly changed to that of her inconsolable admirer.

"Dipper…" she groaned to herself. "What am I going to do about you now?"

*GROWL*

Wendy's attentiveness was shattered by the subtle sound. She slowly turned around and gasped as she discovered the real reason her guy friends fled in fright.

A beige mountain lion crept out of the shadows of the woods. It narrowed its yellow eyes at the stunned, lanky morsel in front of it. Wendy did hear stories from her father about how cougars traveled down from the mountain tops occasionally. She also remembered Dipper claiming to have encountered one deep in the woods a few days ago, but she foolishly chalked it up to a young boy's exaggeration.

"Oh, man!" Wendy began to panic. "What was it that Dad said to do in this situation? Stare it down? No...it'll make it angry! Try to make it look like I'm bigger than it is? Wait; that's for bears!"

She checked the area of ground around her feet while trying to keep eye contact with the wild animal. "Darn it!" Wendy despaired. "I can't even find a rock or a branch to defend myself!"

The idea of sprinting away from the impending danger popped into her mind, but Wendy dispelled the thought. "Sure, the guys made it out alright, but there's _no_ way I can outrun that thing – especially at this short distance!"

From the corner of her eye, Wendy was able to spot a gigantic tree across the field. It reached far beyond the treetops of the Gravity Falls Forest.

"I know that these things can climb trees; after all, _they are cats_, but I totally doubt it can make it all the way up there!"

With a decent plan in place, Wendy took a deep breath to prepare herself; she would only get one chance to pull off this escape just right!

She turned from the dangerous animal and started to dash away until something pulled her feet out from under her! Wendy hit the ground chin first, leaving her dazed for a second.

"What the-?"

Wendy looked back to see what halted her escape. Her ankle had become ensnared in the rope that she previously used to fake her captivity. She flipped over from her stomach and began to pull on her trapped leg. While Wendy had untied her loosely bound hands earlier during the "show," the twine itself was still wrapped tightly around the center tree. This kept the struggling girl anchored down securely in the here and now.

"COME ON!" Wendy sneered through gritted teeth as she fumbled with the knot binding her foot. "NOT NOW! PLEASE NOT NOW!"

Once more, the frightened teen heard another low-pitched snarl. Wendy looked up to see that the mountain lion was inches away from her face. It licked its lips as it continued to focus on its now-immobile meal.

The breath was taken out of Wendy's lungs as pure terror overcame her. Only a dry, cracked response found its way up out of her mouth. Similar to that of a whisper, it was barely even noticeable thanks to the sounds of nature surrounding her:

"Help…"


	3. Chapter 3

_Afraid?_

The intensive, overwhelming feeling surging through the fragile being of Wendy Corduroy couldn't be defined by _a mere word_.

As the redhead faced the deadly threat of the primal fury of nature head on, her life flashed before her emerald-colored eyes. In specific, Wendy recalled the moments that led her into this predicament.

It was only a few days ago when she had overheard her friend and co-worker Mabel Pines confide in her pet pig, Waddles about the state of her twin brother, Dipper. Originally, Wendy presumed that her pint-sized cohort was off adventure-seeking and monster hunting, but became shocked upon learning the truth.

A week before, Wendy and Mabel had requested Dipper's help in getting rid of a possibly-rabid possum that somehow snuck into their place of employment, the Mystery Shack. He had always prided himself in his dealings with the creatures of the Oregon wilderness, so the girls figured he'd be the person to turn to.

After a brief struggle, the rodent had gotten the best of the young boy, forcing Wendy to launch a prompt rescue. As she and Mabel laughed about the whole experience, Dipper disappeared into the depths of the dilapidated house. Little did she know it was because the pre-teen thought that he had embarrassed himself in front of _her_!

Wendy wasn't exactly sure why she decided to get involved in the first place. Maybe she felt guilty for playfully poking fun at her sensitive young friend. Perhaps she missed having Dipper at her side, keeping her company as she sat through day after boring-day of ringing out unfortunate sightseers that managed to find their way into the tourist trap. Conceivably, it could have been because she didn't want to be the prime reasoning in whatever double standard Dipper had set in his mind.

As Wendy went to give Dipper a stern talking-to, Mabel beseeched her to stop, fearing that a confrontation and her betrayal of trust would further drive her sibling into reclusiveness. The teen grew frustrated by the stalemate until Mabel inadvertently gave her a brilliant idea. Within seconds, the two females began to formulate a devious plot to help get the devastated boy back on his feet.

Wendy would act as a damsel in distress in an effort to lure Dipper out of his self-imposed exile and back into action. The spunky girl called in every owed favor from her teen-aged friends, eventually convincing them to dress as monsters and stage a kidnapping scene to further convince her skeptical, little buddy into believing the ruse. Wendy went as far as to play _both_ captive and captor (thanks to a handy, yet cheap voice modulator she bought at a novelty store downtown) in her own ransom call, despite having her heart break a little in hearing the concern and worry in Dipper's voice. Nevertheless, she had to chalk the experience up as a necessary evil.

When the big moment came, Wendy's idea came to fruition. She was to pretend being tied up as precious bait while her costumed friends lied in wait for Dipper to make a rescue attempt. The plan was simple in theory: the boys would chase the heroic pubescent around, and after a while, run off in false terror, giving him the victory needed to regain his confidence.

However, Wendy had overlooked one small detail in her plan: she didn't expect Dipper to come out fighting! The bound girl watched in quiet awe as the small juvenile systemically took down each and every one of her buddies using any means necessary. Wendy couldn't decide if the display before her eyes was a demonstration to Dipper's alleged monster fighting tactics, or if it was a testament to how much the boy _really_ cared about her.

After a lengthy "battle," Wendy's friends couldn't take anymore of Dipper's antics, and swiftly surrendered, ruining her plan. Filled with anger and embarrassment, the distraught lad ran off into the forest despite her pleas. Wendy projected her frustrations on her cowardly acquaintances, forcing them to flee in fear of the outraged ginger.

As she wondered about what to do next about her hurt companion, Wendy discovered that the real threat stood quietly behind her, stalking her every movement. A cougar had found its way down from the Gravity Falls Mountain tops in search for its next meal. Deciding on the unusually tall morsel in front of it, the beast slowly approached the frightened girl.

Wendy wanted nothing more than to run away; to fly away from the incoming danger. As she went to make her great escape, Wendy was roughly tackled to the ground, and back down towards a cold, harsh reality. In between attempting to calm Dipper and chastising Thompson, Lee, and Nate, Wendy's boot had become entwined in the rope that she used to feign her bondage, effectively binding her firmly to the huge tree in the middle of the clearing.

With her ankle tethered to the spot, Wendy could only struggle in vain as the mountain lion overcame her. Deathly terrified, she forced herself to still all movements, even her breathing, to avoid triggering the creature's temper. Her green eyes were lost in the yellow ones focused solely on her. Wendy could see a blurred reflection of herself on the animal's bright-white teeth. She closed her eyes, and waited for the end as she felt the cougar's hot breath rush onto her nostrils.

Despite everything, the irony of the situation was not lost on the bright teenager. She had wanted to be a damsel-in-distress, and now, Wendy was one! The only problem was that the peril was dangerously _real_, and unfortunately for her, there wasn't anyone around for miles that would be willing to help her.

Wendy pulled back as much as her trapped foot would allow as the mountain lion roared in anger. As the brute bellowed a second time, Wendy realized that it _wasn't_ aimed at her. She opened her eyes to see that the creature's sights were locked on something over her head.

Suddenly, a small pebble crashed into the cougar's forehead, making the monster screech in rage. Confused, Wendy turned her head and gasped at the sight before her.

Across the field, Dipper Pines stood at the foot of the giant tree. He held a handful of rocks in his arms as he launched them one by one at the wild animal holding his crush at bay.

"C'mon, you big bully!" Dipper egged the mountain lion on. "Try picking on someone _half_ her size!"

A faint smile appeared on the exasperated girl's face, but there wasn't any solace to be found. Wendy did want the monster to be as far away from her as humanly possible, but at the same time, she didn't want Dipper to risk his life to help her. She wanted to tell him to run; to get out of harm's way and forget about her, but Wendy was so petrified, she found herself physically unable to do so.

"That's it…" Dipper coached as the cougar slowly shifted past the immobile redhead. He hurled another rock to keep it coming. "_That's right…leave Wendy alone…pay attention to me_…"

After letting out a quiet growl, the mountain lion rushed towards the small boy antagonizing it. Dipper yelped at the hungry creature racing towards him, immediately letting his ammo supply fall to the grassy ground. He leapt up, catching a branch, and started to scale the enormous tree. Halfway up the tree's trunk, Dipper looked down to see that the cougar was literally right behind him, using its claws in pursuit.

Once more, Wendy found herself in amazement as she watched the every action of her secret admirer. She couldn't believe that Dipper's escape plan was the exact same as hers! "Oh, well," the ginger figured,_ "I guess great minds do think alike…"_

With great effort, Dipper hoisted himself up to the top branch. He peered past his dangling, sneakered feet to see that the savage beast could only make it halfway up the tree before sliding back down in defeat.

"HA!" Dipper laughed in relief upon realizing that he was safe for now.

With the ferocious cat preoccupied, Wendy went back to trying to release the rope that held her prisoner. She tried her best to slide it off, but Wendy couldn't pull the taut cord past her heel. She even tried to remove her boot, but the tense knot kept her ankle firmly held in place, preventing her from doing so.

Wendy heard Dipper call out from the treetops, "Hurry, Wendy! While it's distracted! Get out of there!"

She continued to thrash futilely with the tangle. Wendy finally found the inner strength to regain her voice. "Dipper…" she coughed dryly. With a bit more effort, she compelled a yell outwards, "Dipper!"

"Dipper! My foot's stuck tight! I can't move!"

The anxious boy worried as he heard the snarls of the cougar beneath him, "Oh, man!" The tween mumbled amongst himself in an attempt to further aid his main squeeze.

"Umm…"

All of a sudden, Dipper was struck with an idea. He cupped his hands and shouted down to the ensnared redhead.

"Wait, Wendy! Do you see my knapsack around?"

She raised her head and scanned the field, noticing the light brown backpack a few feet away.

"It's right in front of me. Why?"

Dipper instructed his friend, "I keep my multi-tool in one of the side pockets. Use it to free yourself!"

Wendy nodded as she crawled towards her last hope for freedom. As she reached for the backpack, she felt the rope dig firmly into her shin, making her cry out in pain.

Noticing the shriek of the defeated teen, the cougar turned its sights back towards Wendy. Dipper quickly became frantic, looking around the tree tops for a way to get the animal to focus on him again. Taking a handful of nuts and berries, Dipper hurled them downwards, landing right in the creature's face. Yet again, the mountain lion hopped up towards the tree, desperate to reach the child who insisted on teasing it.

"Yeah, big boy!" Dipper persisted, kicking his feet against the tree trunk to further provoke his opponent. "Stay right here!"

Wendy reached again for the bag, her hand narrowly missing its straps. The ginger grit her teeth, trying her best to fight the pain, and made one last stride towards Dipper's supplies. As if the fates heard her silent prayers, Wendy was able to clasp the rucksack by the edge of her fingertips.

"Score!" the teenager cheered to herself as she started to go through the various pockets in search of Dipper's multi-tool.

"Come on! Where is it?!"

At long last, Wendy pulled out the multi-tool from the bottom of the side pocket. She threw back the various contents until she reached the blade portion.

Dipper watched from the tree as Wendy sawed through the rope holding her down. Finally free of her tie, she quickly rose to her feet and turned to look up at her pal in the treetops.

"Run, Wendy! Before it's too late!"

He noticed that a sad, guilty look was plastered across the girl's freckled face, as if to say, "What about you?" Dipper knew that Wendy didn't want to leave him behind, but what could she do without risking being mauled by the fiend waiting at the tree's base.

"I'll be okay!" Dipper pledged to his worried crush. "You go on ahead, and I'll be right behind you. I promise!"

Without saying a word, Wendy signaled in response. With a gleam in her eye, she picked up Dipper's backpack, and snuck off into the shelter of the green wilderness.

As Wendy disappeared from sight, Dipper let out a sigh of comfort. To him, Wendy's safety was the most important thing at the moment. Since she was now safe and sound, it felt as if a huge weight was removed from his shoulders.

"Now that the hard part's over," Dipper said to himself. "All I have to do now is _wait_…"

He looked upon at the raging cougar reaching out for him with its sharp fangs exposed.

"After all, it shouldn't be long until this guy gets bored and goes away. Yep! I have a feeling that everything's going to be alr-"

*CRACK*

Dipper glanced down at the branch he was currently resting on. "Please tell me that wasn't what I think it was…"

Out of the corner of his eye, the shaken boy noticed at a razor-thin crack forming at the ridge of the branch. He stopped any or all fidgeting in hopes of preventing the tear from deepening.

"Ok! Ok!" He attempted to calm himself. "As long as I stay absolutely and perfectly still, nothing else can happen. Things can't get any worse…"

*CRACK*

Dipper felt the tree branch lower even further. "Oh, come on!" the pre-teen complained. "I can't even take a breath?"

*CRACK*

He glimpsed down to see that the mountain lion had stopped clawing and snarling its way up the tree. Instead, as if it was aware of Dipper's plight, it waited patiently with its eyes aimed towards the heavens, knowing that a tasty appetizer would be making its way down the tree shortly.

Dipper could do nothing else but wait for whatever fate had in mind for him, "Well…"

*CRACK*

"…at least I'll go knowing…"

*CRACK*

"…that Wendy is safe and sound..."

*CRACK*

Abruptly, the tense atmosphere was shattered by a deafening blaring sound. Both human and beast froze in their actions and looked around for the source of the noise. A few seconds later, another blast echoed through the woods. Alarmed by the resonance coming closer and closer, the cougar let out a howl, and hastily retreated into the other direction.

Dipper looked into the distance to see something rattling around in the bushes at the outside of the clearing. "Oh, great," he moaned to himself. "Now what?!"

A second later, Wendy came out of the distance, clutching an air horn against her chest. With a conniving smile, she offered a tiny wave to her tiny defender.

Bowled over by his secret love's ingenuity, Dipper let out a series of nervous laughs, "Where…*hehe*…where in the heck did you find that thing?"

"Oh, this?" Wendy held the air horn up for Dipper to see. "I found it buried in your knapsack." She raised her eyebrows at the boy in the tree. "It looks like you brought everything but the kitchen sink with you, huh?"

"Yep," Dipper rubbed the back of his neck, making his redheaded friend chuckle at his edginess. "I guess it pays to be prepared…"

Both of them laughed at the serendipity of the whole scenario.

*CRACK*

The branch finally gave way beneath Dipper, sending him plunging down towards the ground

"WENDY!"

"DIPPER!" the teen cried out as she raced towards the scene.

Dipper shut his eyes as he let out a high-pitched shriek. As he prepared to painfully hit the rough terrain, it seemed like he was stopped in mid-air by some miraculous force. He opened his eyes, trying to discover what prevented his crash landing. He looked up to meet the glowing green eyes of Wendy. Somehow, the ginger was able to catch the tiny hero in her arms a split second before he landed on the forest floor.

"Gotcha!" the girl's smile only widen upon seeing the surprised look on her protector's face.

"Wow…" Dipper was at a loss for words. "Gee, thanks, Wendy! I…I don't know what to say…"

"Don't mention it, little guy!" she prided. "After all, I did owe you one…"

"Yeah…"

The sounds of the Gravity Falls Forest played on as the two stumbled their way through quiet awkwardness. After a brief moment, Wendy was the first to break the silence.

"Are you alright?"

"Me?" Dipper answered shyly. "Just a little out of breath." His brown eyes focused on Wendy's emerald ones once more. "What about you? How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I mean, I have a really, nasty red mark on my ankle, but other that than, I'm just fine."

Even though Dipper would never admit it, he was getting used to the feeling of being held in his crush's arms.

"Just wondering, Dipper," she pondered, as her dimpled cheeks started to become a blushed red, "How did you know that I needed…err…I mean, that I was in…"

"Oh!" Dipper responded, getting the gist of what Wendy was trying to ask. "Well, I was walking back home when I seen the boys rush past me, screaming in terror about a mountain lion that was after them. I didn't see you with them, so I just put two and two together…"

"Ah, then…"

Wendy gawked down at her secret devotee still snuggled in her clutches, and decided to break the tranquil peace for a second time with a question; something that she figured that should have been said in the first place.

"Hey, Dipper?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

He immediately knew by the changed tone in Wendy's voice that her inquiry was going to be serious. He stuttered out a response, "Um…Sure, Wendy. A-A-Ask away?"

"Dipper, I just gotta know: _what was this all about_? I mean, you being embarrassed about the whole thing with the possum; you hiding away in the Shack's attic. What's up with that?"

"Umm…"

Faced with being forced to tell Wendy the awful truth, Dipper became so panicky that he was unable to come up with a reasonable answer for her.

"You see," he struggled to explain. "The thing is…"

With that, the jumpy youngster attempted to leap out of Wendy's arms. However, the redhead, well experienced from the shenanigans of her three younger brothers, tightened her grasp on the twelve year old.

"Uh-Uh, mister! You're not getting away that easily!"

"But, Wendy!"

"C'mon, man!" Wendy encouraged. "Level with me, Dipper!" She narrowed her eyes onto the hesitant boy, "I _did_ almost get eaten by a cougar because of this!"

Finding himself lost yet again in his crush's sparkling green eyes, Dipper was helpless in fighting against his guilty conscience.

"I…I was afraid…"

"Everyone gets scared sometimes, Dipper." Wendy sympathized. "Like, that huge possum totally freaked me out, but you don't think any less of me, do you?"

"No, but that's different because…"

Dipper stopped in mid-sentence as he felt Wendy squeeze him even harder. He looked up to see her green eyes glaring down at him.

"The next words that come out of your mouth," Wendy warned, "…better not be, '_because you're a girl_.'"

"No! No!" Dipper raised his hands upwards in self-defense. "It's not like that! What I meant is that I was afraid that I changed things forever."

Wendy lightened her disposition upon hearing his answer, "Changed things?"

Dipper sadly nodded in response. "I know that there are certain things that you guys count on me for, and I like that, but after what happened the other day, I was scared you wouldn't see me the same way ever again."

Her heartstrings were gently pulled as Dipper went on with his perspective.

"I just – I just thought that you wouldn't want anything to do with me; that we couldn't hang out anymore, or go out on adventures..." He sighed to himself, "I couldn't face _that_; _I didn't want to face that_..."

"Oh, Dipper…"

His vision shot up to the girl who cradled him like an infant.

"_Why do you think I went through all this trouble_?"

Dipper's brown eyes widen at Wendy's exclamation, as if to say, "Why?"

"_I missed you, Dipper_." Wendy elucidated. "I missed having someone to goof off with at work; someone to laugh at the same stupid, lame, corny jokes that I find funny…"

Dipper smiled, realizing that Wendy was right in saying that very few shared their twisted sense of humor.

"…and do you honestly think if I didn't really want you around, I would have done this in the first place?"

A great sense of remorse formed in Dipper's mind, especially when thinking about his previous outburst towards his favorite redhead.

"And another thing," the teenager declared. "Even before this whole thing started, I always thought of you as one of the bravest guys I have ever known."

"Really?" Dipper was totally astonished by Wendy's answer.

"Yeah, man! And I don't mean by "twelve-year old" terms, either. I know grown adults who don't have half the stones that you do, kiddo!"

He couldn't help, but cheerfully grin at all of the praise that Wendy was showering him with.

"Besides," Dipper noticed that Wendy resumed using her "serious" tone. "You deserve to know that sometimes…" The teenager bit her lip as she tried her best to find the right words, "…sometimes, you inspire _certain people_ to braver than they really are. "

"Like who?"

Wendy lowered her eyebrows at the naïve boy, "Like _me_, doofus!"

Dipper gave his crush a perplexed expression, "I don't understand…"

She rolled her eyes as she explicated, "Do you remember how I said that that rodent made me flip out?

Dipper followed along with Wendy's story, "Well, I had _no_ intention of setting foot off of the gift shop counter. That was, until I seen that thing mount itself on your back. As it raised its head to bite you, I knew I had to do something! I can't explain it, Dipper. I didn't think; _I just acted_. Before I knew it, I flew off the ledge, picked up that broomstick, and thrashed that stupid pest."

The curious boy hung on the lanky ginger's every word with great interest as she persisted, "The only thing that was going through my head at the moment was that I couldn't let it hurt you, Dipper; especially when you were put in harm's way _because of me_." A hint of sadness appeared over the young girl. "I bet that sounds kind of dumb, doesn't it?"

"Actually, Wendy," Dipper empathized. "It doesn't seem "dumb" at all! To be honest, I know _exactly how that feels_!

Both youths beamed at each other upon discovering that they shared some mutual ground. The Gravity Falls Forest was filled with a sense of calm serenity for a third ztime.

"So," Wendy double-checked with her companion, "Are we cool? No more hiding away from the world?"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Glad to hear, short stuff!" As Wendy went to lower the boy back on his feet, she stopped in hesitation. Dipper became worried as he noticed the change in her expression.

"What is it, Wendy? Did the mountain lion come back?"

"No," she muttered as brought the concerned pre-teen back towards her center. "It's nothing bad. I just…_forgot something_…"

Dipper's brow beaded as he attempted to figure out what exactly Wendy was talking about.

Her freckle-filled face slowly turned a tickled pink as she raised the small form closer, "I forgot to say, thank you for _always_ coming to my rescue…"

With that, Wendy bent down and gave the mystified tween a short, but tender kiss on his cheek, instantly sending Dipper into an almost catatonic state.

"…_my hero_…"

She giggled light-heartily at his over-the-top reaction to her simple gift. As Wendy went to set the stunned boy down, he sprung back to life, surprising her to the point that she nearly dropped him too hastily.

"WAIT!"

Before Wendy could react in any fashion, Dipper reached upwards towards her.

"In that case, thank _you_ for saving my bacon as well…"

He returned the favor by giving the off-guard young adult a cheek peck of her own.

_"…my heroine…"_

Despite being shocked and somewhat flustered by what just occurred, the redhead gently set Dipper back down on the grassy floor.

"Okay; enough of all of this mushy stuff." She looked down at her little devotee and offered her hand to him, "How about we get out of here? After all, I'm _definitely_ going to need your help with my next scheme."

Dipper excitedly slid his tiny hand into Wendy's as they walked side-by-side back towards the main trail. Simply content to be included in her newest adventure, Dipper quizzed her for more details, "So, what exactly are we doing?"

"Simple!" Wendy prided. "We're going to get some payback on the guys! I have a prank planned that's so bad, they're going to run home and cry to their mamas!"

"Wendy," Dipper tried to warn his determined comrade. "Didn't you learn _anything_ from today about playing tricks on people?"

She turned towards her fretful chum, "It's like I said earlier, Dipper: _I almost was eaten by a cougar_, and those dorks couldn't even give me as much as a heads-up. They aren't getting away with that scot-free…"

Dipper could only sigh in defeat, "…What's the plan?"

Smirking due to Dipper's trouble-free surrender, Wendy began to dictate the details, "First things first; do you still have my cap?

"I left it at the Shack with Mabel. Why?"

Wendy bent down and whispered more fine points to her partner in crime, "Well, before we head back, we need to stop at the store and pick up some thick ketchup. Or I guess we can use strawberry syrup; you know, whatever's cheaper…"

"Uh-huh…"

"We cover my hat with the red stuff, making it look like a bloody mess…"

"Then what?"

"We track down those traitors. My guess is that they're hiding out at Greasy's Diner, or the movie theater. Anyways, I need you to take the cap, and run inside, screaming and crying, "Look what happened!"

Dipper could only shake his head and blissfully laugh as he listened to the wicked detailing of Wendy's vengeful design. As both adolescents headed towards the next escapade together, they carried a sense of delight and reprieve as each had received exactly what they wanted in the first place:

_Everything had returned back to normal…_


End file.
